Record-equalling Aguero still the main man at City
BANYANA BANYANA drubbed Burkina Faso 4-0 in an international friendly yesterday at Dobsonville Stadium, this counting as their first official match following their triumph in the Cosafa Women’s Championship in Zimbabwe last month.
A brace within a minute in the second half ensured that the name of Thembi Kgatlana was on everyone’s lips at the stadium as Banyana enjoyed what was literally the equivalent of a Sunday morning stroll in the park.
As it was, Desireee Ellis’ team could well have won the match at a canter and rendered it a no contest by halftime.
Defensively, there was good communication between Banyana centre-back Bambanani Mbane and her skipper Janine van Wyk who was returning to the senior national team after club commitments ensured she missed Banyana’s victorious Cosafa Championship campaign.
The United Statesbased 30-year-old, who plies her trade for Houston Dash in Texas, led with her wealth of experience, ensuring Banyana’s goalmouth was protected at all times.
The 2-0 lead they enjoyed was not a true reflection of the many chances they created in the first half.
But they went to the interval two goals to the good thanks to strikes by Lebohang Ramalepe andLeandra Smeda who found the net via a great header.
Ramalepe’s goal was a result of poor communication between the opposition defence, as her intended long ball into the 18-yard area resulted in a goal, following a failed clearance from Burkina Faso.
And then Thembi Kgetlana struck within 60 seconds after the hour mark to send the crowd into dance and song.
The result was never in doubt as Banyana played with dominance, controlling the ball better than their opponents, especially when moving into the final third.
The win was expected for the fifth ranked home team, as they were playing against a side who are 11 places below them on the Caf rankings. The only question was by how many goals the South Africans would win by.
Stand-in coach Ellis would have been pleased with the fact that her side were able to build on their Cosafa triumph in Zimbabwe.
Now they will shift their attention to next year’s Afcon qualifiers.
The finals of that that tournament will serve as Caf’s qualifying tournament for the 2019 Fifa Women’s World Cup qualifiers set to take place in France.
Though the South African Football Association (Safa) are yet to come out regarding her future, whether they will give her the job permanently, Ellis will no doubt be able to hold her head high in the knowledge that she has done all she could to ensure that Banyana produced a string of positive results under her leadership. SERGIO AGUERO ended a stressful month by scoring in the 3-0 win over Burnley that earnt him a place in the Manchester City record books, proving fellow striker Gabriel Jesus still has a long way to go if he wants to depose the Argentine hitman.
Jesus has been in blistering form this season, particularly excelling over the past few weeks while Aguero, was sidelined with a broken rib sustained in a car accident in Amsterdam. Three goals and an assist in that time provided proof that the 20-year-old Brazilian is more than capable of leading the line for Pep Guardiola’s men.
Such form has led to Jesus being named in the three-player shortlist for the prestigious Golden Boy award alongside Kylian Mbappe and Ousmane Dembele – quite an achievement after arriving in Europe only in January.
Aguero and Jesus have been deployed together to devastating effect on numerous occasions this season, but Aguero proved it is not just the young upstart who can produce the goods on Saturday against Burnley.
With the pressure of equalling a club record that has stood for 78 years, Aguero stepped up when handed the chance with a penalty on the half-hour mark and converted with aplomb.
That strike brought him level with Eric Brook’s tally of 177 – achieved between 1927 and 1939.
Aguero had double the attempts at goal to any of his teammates as he looked hungry to hold the record outright, but it was not meant to be on the day. AJAX CAPE TOWN coach Stanley Menzo was delighted at the manner in which Gugulethu midfielder Bantu Mzwakali responded to calls to raise his game. The 23-year-old played an influential role in the Cape side’s 2-1 win over Bloemfontein Celtic at Athlone Stadium on Saturday.
But, this weekend, league action takes a break, with Ajax on the road to Polokwane for a tricky Telkom Knockout Cup first round fixture against Polokwane City on Saturday, while neighbours Cape Town City are in the same region to face Baroka FC on Sunday.
Ajax’s goals were scored by Mzwakali and Tashreeq Morris – and Menzo was particularly pleased for Mzwakali. Always rated as a player, he has been plagued by inconsistency, which is why
“He is going to get an amazing record and hopefully the next one is not the last one,” Guardiola told reporters.
What will be worrying to City’s opponents is that each striker’s exploits seems to spur on the other to continue to find the scoresheet on an even more regular basis.
There is no sign of a rift, neither is set on leading the line outright, with the relationship being a very cohesive one.
“I value our strong relationship off the pitch,” Jesus told the Manchester Evening News this week. “We have such a strong connection outside the pitch, and we take it onto the pitch. It is the best way to work.”
Such a deadly duo, who enjoy working together, can only spell danger for the rest of the Premier League.
Jesus has impressed each time he has donned the City shirt, but he is not the replacement for he hasn’t seen too much game time this season. But Menzo took a gamble on the player and he rose to the occasion against Celtic.
“Bantu was perfect, he made good runs and I was happy for him,” said the former Ajax Amsterdam and Netherlands goalkeeper. “That is the Bantu that I want to see, and I also want to see more of the Bantu who scores goals. The goal he scored would have given him confidence that (he) can score…”
Ajax are now able to prepare for the opening round of the Cup this weekend with a lot more confidence and belief. Under pressure after a struggling start to the season, the win over Celtic gave the team and Menzo a lot more breathing room. There was certainly a lot to like about Ajax’s first-half performance – and, if they build on it, and the character they showed when Celtic Aguero many assumed he would become. There is plenty of life in the 29-year-old Argentine yet.
Meanwhile, midfielder Ander Herrera said Manchester United players lacked the passion of their Huddersfield counterparts in the 2-1 defeat at the John Smith’s Stadium on Saturday and called on his side to respond immediately to the setback.
First-half goals from Aaron Mooy and Laurent Depoitre were enough for the promoted Yorkshire side to secure a first win over United since 1952, inflicting a first defeat of the season on Jose Mourinho’s men.
Herrera was clearly unhappy with a defeat which left United five points adrift of rivals City at the top of the table, saying Huddersfield wanted the victory more than United. The midweek League Cup match against Swansea offered a perfect opportunity to issue a response, he added.
“It was a very tough day because we had a big chance to keep winning games,” the Spaniard told MUTV. “We didn’t do it. They were more aggressive in the first half and played with more passion in the first 30-35 minutes.
“They deserve the victory. We didn’t do enough to get the three points and we cannot think now that we have lost everything because we still have to play a lot of games. We now have two very tough Premier League games, you never know, you can win against anyone and lose against anyone.
“You want the opportunity to play again as quickly as possible and that’s what’s going to happen again against Swansea.” – Reuters came back strongly in the second half, it shouldn’t be too long before Menzo and his team start marching up the PSL standings.
There were a lot of positives to take from the performance against Celtic.
“In the first half we played our best football of the season,” said the Ajax coach. “We dominated and it was all about the win. Celtic pushed and pressed us higher in the second half, but I thought we won the match with our first-half performance. You cannot play like Barcelona for the whole game, so, under the circumstances, I was happy with the win.”
Looking ahead to Saturday’s Cup game against Polokwane, and the rest of the season, Menzo was hopeful that the Celtic win had placed Ajax on the right track. “Going forward, I think the result was good for the team’s confidence,” he said. STEVE KOMPHELA wasn’t convincing in his post-mortem of what was a tough week for him as Kaizer Chiefs coach having faced Mamelodi Sundowns and rivals Orlando Pirates just days from each other.
“It’s a pass mark,” the Amakhosi coach said after he’d gotten through those two PSL fixtures unscathed, winning 2-1 away to the Brazilians and being held to a goalless draw by Pirates. “I asked myself whether I would take a point in this match (on Saturday), and I thought in as much as we haven’t won at home this season we will take it, although still not satisfied.”
Komphela is still very much aware of the pressure he is under in his third season with the Glamour Boys. Following the victory over Sundowns on Tuesday, he tried not to get carried away, saying that Chiefs had only won a big match and hadn’t actually done anything in the greater scheme of things. He was even more cautious after the Soweto derby.
“At Naturena (club base) we could say we are happy, but we can’t say that to the public. But to get four points from six is a pass mark. I think it was a bit tricky that you played a good game against Sundowns and then quite aware of the strengths of Pirates. They tweaked things and changed structures,” Komphela explained.
The coach never really gave a direct answer to a question about surviving a week in which many thought he’d be out of a job. On paper, Sundowns looked too strong and anything can happen in the Soweto derby, even though it’s starting to be predictable.
“We will have to go back and compare the two matches so that we can analyse properly,” he said. “But there are some things that I thought we did well against Sundowns, like players’ tactical variation. Do they adjust quickly and do they understand? We are always trying to manipulate the game and when we debrief those are some of the things we will look at. I thought we could have won the Pirates game.”